Needle Found in Mango From NSW Supermarket

A customer has found a needle in a mango bought from a Coles supermarket in West Gosford, NSW, on Sept. 17.

After the customer reported it to the Brisbane Water Local Area Command on Sept. 20, the police followed up with an investigation, The Daily Telegraph reported.

“They had it for two days and later discovered, while cutting it up, a small needle,” Chief Inspector Nigel Webber said. “Police have seized the needle for forensic examination. No persons were injured.”

A Coles spokesman told the Telegraph “we take food safety seriously and this matter is being investigated.”

Health officials advise everyone to cut their fruit before consuming.

QLD MP Encourages Strawberry Consumption

The first incident of sewing needles appearing in fruit was back on Sept. 9 when a Queensland man bit into a strawberry and swallowed half a needle, resulting in a trip to the emergency department. Since then, more incidents of strawberry contamination have been reported, with at least one case in each Australian state or territory.

Federal Liberal MP Lucy Wicks wanted to reassure her community in QLD by taking decisive action to keep Australians safe from the tampering that has been seen with local food.

The Federal member for Robertson Lucy Wicks outside East Gosford Public School in the electorate of Robertson on July 2, 2016 in Gosford, Australia. Tony Feder/Getty Images

Wicks proposed a bill, the Criminal Code Amendment (Food Contamination) Bill 2018, to increase the penalties for individuals who tamper with or contaminate goods.

The maximum jail term for the associated offences will increase from 10 to 15 years.

She encouraged her community to support farmers by continuing to buy strawberries. For those still concerns, she said they could cut and inspect the strawberries before eating.

Wicks plans on making strawberry and white-chocolate muffins for her kids this weekend, and her colleagues plan on bringing their favourite strawberry desserts to the office.

To prevent more needle contamination in their fruit, Woolworths has taken the initiative of taking sewing needles off their shelves, news.com.au reported.

“We’ve taken the precautionary step of temporarily removing sewing needles from sale in our stores. The safety of our customers is our top priority,” Woolworths spokesman told the news site.

Meanwhile, Coles said they had no plans to take needles off their shelves.

Instead, they have taken their own precautions by having their strawberrries inspected along the supply chain before they arrive on the shelf.

“We have worked with our suppliers to implement additional control measures to ensure strawberries are inspected before they are sent to supermarkets," a Coles spokeswoman told news.com.au.

The First Culprit Caught

A 12-year-old girl from NSW was arrested on Sept. 19 after she confessed that she had been putting needles in strawberries; believing that it was a copycat prank.

Initially it was believed that the youngster was male, but the mix-up was due to New South Wales Acting Assistant Police Commissioner Stuart Smith misspeaking when he called the female suspect a “he,” SmoothFM reported.

The police caught the girl putting needles into strawberries. She explained she did it to show her friends from a NSW Blue Mountains school.

After a student reported it to the police, the police and her teachers talked to her at home and got her to confess.

The 12-year-old girl will be dealt with under the youth cautioning system.

Farmers Struggling to Make a Sale

Australian farmers have been adversely affected due to this “prank.”

Stephanie Chheang’s family-owned farm has thrown out all their strawberries in three days because none of the retailers within the market would take their strawberries due to the needle scare.

They have had to use metal detectors and other equipment to ensure the safety of the produce.